Nearly 300K Floridians sign petition to get recreational marijuana on 2024 ballot

ORLANDO, Fla. — More than 294,000 Floridians and counting have signed on to get recreational marijuana on the 2024 ballot.

That means the initiative has cleared its first hurdle, but there are many more to go. The initiative ultimately needs hundreds of thousands of more signatures in order to end up before voters.

>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<

The Florida Supreme Court will now review the financial impact of the petition and whether the wording is clear enough to put before voters.

“I can’t see why the court would have an issue with it,” said Christopher Cano, executive director of NORML (National Organization Reform Marijuana Laws).

Read: The smell of medical marijuana farms isn’t sitting well with neighbors

Cano said he wants to see the initiative advance.

“The fact is that regulation when it comes to cannabis works, and prohibition hasn’t,” Cano said. “What prohibition has done is take hardworking Americans out of the workforce, saddled them with criminal records and created an entire generation of folks that are struggling.”

But Luke Niforatos, with Smart Approaches to Marijuana, is hoping this is the end of the line for this latest recreational push.

Read: Medical marijuana to be sold at some Circle K gas stations in Florida

Even if the supreme court approves the language, there’s likely a long road ahead with more than 600,000 more signatures needed, with a certain amount of those signatures coming from at least half of Florida’s Congressional districts.

Previous attempts to get this passed have been squashed by both the legislature and by the state supreme court. If it does get on the ballot, more than 60% of voters would need to vote yes to get it passed.

Read: Marijuana: Many employers are rethinking their stances as laws shift

Video: Central Florida medical marijuana plant now under state investigation A Central Florida medical marijuana plant is now under state investigation. (Daralene Jones, WFTV.com)

Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.

©2023 Cox Media Group